1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disc apparatus for recording data on an optical disc such as a CD or DVD disc, and reproducing the data recorded on the optical disc.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent times, there has been newly developed an optical disc apparatus capable of recording/reproducing high-quality video data and high-quality audio data storable thereon for a long time, for example, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) player, such that the optical disc apparatus has become increasingly popular as a recording medium. FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a conventional optical disc apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional optical disc apparatus includes an optical pick-up unit 11 for recording data on an optical disc 10 or reproducing the data recorded on the optical disc 10, a VDP (Video Disc Player) system 12, a signal combiner 13, a memory 14, and an OSD (On-Screen Display) generator 15.
FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a password management process for the conventional optical disc apparatus shown in FIG. 1. With reference to FIG. 2, if an optical disc 10 is loaded into the optical disc apparatus of FIG. 1 at step S10, the optical pick-up unit 11 reads navigation information additionally recorded on a lead-in area of the optical disc 10, and supplies the navigation information to the VDP system 12. Then, the VDP system 12 stores the supplied navigation information in a temporary storage area of the memory 14 at step S11. In this case, the memory 14 stores a unique password of the optical disc 10. The unique password has been typically adapted to determine whether the optical disc 10 is reproduced or not, and has not been freely changed by a user. All the optical discs have different unique passwords.
If a user enters a prescribed key command to start a disc playback function at step S12, the VDP system 12 displays an OSD window for requesting the user to enter a unique password of the optical disc 10 on a peripheral display such as a TV at step S14. In this case, the unique password may be indicated on a jacket of the optical disc 10 or may be provided to the user over an Internet Web site.
If the user enters the unique password on the OSD window at step S15, the VDP system 12 compares the entered password with a predetermined password stored in the temporary storage area of the memory 14 at step S16. If the entered password is identical with the predetermined password stored in the memory 14 at step S17, the VDP system 12 executes successive playback operations for normally reproducing the optical disc 10 at step S18.
On the other hand, if the entered password is different from the predetermined password at step S17, the VDP system 12 outputs an error message on a display screen to allow the user to recognize an erroneous password entry at step S19.
Therefore, it is impossible for a third-party user to fraudulently play the optical disc 10 inserted into the optical disc apparatus.
However, according to the aforementioned conventional optical disc apparatus, the user must manually enter a unique password pre-assigned to the optical disc by a manufacturer, such that it is impossible for the user to freely change the unique password of the optical disc. In addition, the user must memorize many passwords differently assigned to individual optical discs, or must visually check a unique password of an optical disc to be played whenever the user wants to reproduce any data stored in the optical disc, resulting in greater inconvenience for the user.